Church
The Dreifaltigkeitskirche (Trinity Church) on Makartplatz is Fischer von Erlach’s deliberate counterpoint to his own Kollegienkirche across the river: one facade curves outward, one curves inward, the same architect replying to himself across the Salzach. Built 1694-1702, it is one of the defining gestures of Salzburg’s baroque cityscape.
Archbishop Johann Ernst von Thun commissioned Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach to design several major churches for Salzburg in the late 17th century. The Dreifaltigkeitskirche, built between 1694 and 1702, was one of them. The Kollegienkirche on the opposite bank was another. Both commissioned by the same patron, both designed by the same architect.
The relationship between the two buildings is the architectural event. The Kollegienkirche has a deeply concave entrance facade; the Trinity Church answers with a convex one. They face each other across the Salzach like parentheses around the city. This kind of deliberate cross-site formal dialogue was unusual even in the baroque period, and Fischer von Erlach understood exactly what he was doing.
Inside, the oval dome is the experience. Fischer von Erlach stretched the interior plan along an east-west axis and let the dome elongate above it, compressing the space at the sides and releasing it upward. Stand beneath it and look up. The geometry is doing something that photographs never quite capture.
The church sits on Makartplatz directly beside Mozart’s Residence, which means most visitors pass it on the Mozart trail and keep walking. That is a mistake.
People
archbishop1643 - 1709
The great patron behind Salzburg's high baroque building campaign. Johann Ernst von Thun gave Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach his most important commissions, transforming Salzburg into one of the most magnificent baroque cities in the German-speaking world.
architect1656 - 1723
The defining architect of Austrian Baroque. Fischer von Erlach built four major churches in Salzburg, all commissioned by Johann Ernst von Thun, including the Kollegienkirche and the Dreifaltigkeitskirche. The partnership between patron and architect gave Salzburg the architectural character it retains today.
painter1654 - 1730
The most important Austrian baroque painter of his generation and the founder of the Austrian baroque painting tradition. In Salzburg his frescoes crown the dome of the Kollegienkirche and the Dreifaltigkeitskirche, the two Fischer von Erlach churches.
